Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

[apbarog]

11 Apr 44

A couple of enemy subs were probably sunk.

I-55 attacked LST-122 near Nagasaki. The LST, and others, were empty and headed back to Naha. I made a mistake when juggling task forces at Kurume, and these LSTs headed for home without escort. It seems that there is always a price to pay for unescorted TFs. LST-122 was engaged on the surface, hit by 7 shells, missed by many torpedoes, but finished off with a torpedo hit.

Enemy minesweepers continued to clear mines at Kobe, but interestingly, not near Oita nor Yokohama.

Near Amami Oshima, RO-47 fired 2 torpedoes at LST-458. This convoy had an escort. Destroyer Hobby caused heavy damage to the sub. A bit later, sub Escolar spotted badly damaged RO-47 and finished it off with a torpedo.

P-38s again swept Truk, finding just 8 Zeros on CAP, and downing about half of them.

B-24 hit Nagasaki's port, sinking 2 ACMs and I-54. The city is still burning from yesterday's B-29 raid. Over 300 strategic points accumulated. A good experiment. I don't need the B-29s in this war, but using them will keep the enemy's fighters protecting targets to the rear.

TBFs sank 3 sub chasers north of Kyushu. Sub Sterlet sank sub chaser near Maizuru, on the other side of Japan. Subs there are being based in the Aleutians. The western approaches are all mined.

British sub Trunculent hit AMC Bankok Maru at Yap. Audio says that it sank, and it was carrying men. This was made possible by a SigInt message 2 days ago. 2 US subs are off the northern coast of Yap, waiting for the convoy to leave.

The first attack at Fukuoka went well. The base should be captured today, barring an appearance by the enemy battleships. And maybe despite that, given that it is urban terrain. Fukuoka has a size 10 port.

Ground combat at Fukuoka (103,57)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14834 troops, 183 guns, 220 vehicles, Assault Value = 624

Defending force 11013 troops, 112 guns, 132 vehicles, Assault Value = 113

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Allied adjusted assault: 369

Japanese adjusted defense: 143

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1040 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 50 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 36 (3 destroyed, 33 disabled)
Vehicles lost 23 (8 destroyed, 15 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
139 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Vehicles lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
4th Marine Division
5th USMC Tank Battalion
4th USMC Tank Battalion
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion
Sixth US Army
145th Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
61st Naval Guard Unit
19th Tank Regiment
56th Depot Division
3rd Machine Cannon AA Battalion
54th Construction Battalion
70th JAAF AF Bn
21st Ship Engineer Regiment
29th Army
22nd Ship Engineer Regiment
23rd Air Defense AA Regiment
304th Ship Eng Coy
Tachiarai JAAF Base Force

Carriers and battleships will leave the Kurume area and head south to meet up with more transports near Kagoshima. The transports will continue on to Kurume, but the battleships will probably go to Oita. No enemy battleships at Oita today, or yesterday, after 2 days of bombardments. Moving more Cats to Kyushu resulted in spotting the enemy's 6 battleship task force at Hiroshima and the 3 battleship task force at at Yokohama. One of the BBs at Yokohama is badly damaged. This TF may have just gotten to Yokohama.

[apbarog]

12 Apr 44

Bluegill sank RO-40 with a torpedo near Fukue-jima. O20 moved to Yap, and the transport TF was still there. One torpedo hit xAP Kachidoki Maru, probably sinking it.

52 Peggys from China bombed the fragment of the 2/6th Cav/Cdo Bn on Saishu To, just SW of Korea. This was my diversion attack before going to Japan. The Peggys wiped out the unit. There was only a couple of squads still there, the rest having been picked up by sub transports. The base will probably flip back to the enemy now.

9 TBFs from a CVE flew to Hiroshima unescorted, and ran into almost 200 fighters. Every turn I've been moving my carriers around, and going into each squadron and changing the range for the naval bombers, so as to avoid flying to Hiroshima. I missed this TBF unit this time.

Fukuoka was captured. It has a huge size 10 port. Many enemy ships were lost with the capture. 17 TKs, an AO, about 20 xAK, some xAKLs. A bunch more were in construction. Eight of the land units died to attrition after the fight.

Ground combat at Fukuoka (103,57)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16999 troops, 278 guns, 477 vehicles, Assault Value = 1038

Defending force 9617 troops, 111 guns, 128 vehicles, Assault Value = 53

Allied adjusted assault: 432

Japanese adjusted defense: 85

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 1)

Allied forces CAPTURE Fukuoka !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1208 casualties reported
Squads: 18 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 69 destroyed, 67 disabled
Engineers: 16 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 51 (33 destroyed, 18 disabled)
Vehicles lost 70 (68 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
102 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Vehicles lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)

Assaulting units:
5th Marine Division
4th Marine Division
4th USMC Tank Battalion
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
5th USMC Tank Battalion
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion
145th Field Artillery Battalion
715th AmphTrac Engineer Battalion
Sixth US Army
86th Coast AA Regiment
15th Marine Defense Battalion
3rd AmphTrac Engineer Battalion
18th Marine Defense Battalion

Defending units:
19th Tank Regiment
61st Naval Guard Unit
56th Depot Division
29th Army
23rd Air Defense AA Regiment
70th JAAF AF Bn
22nd Ship Engineer Regiment
304th Ship Eng Coy
54th Construction Battalion
21st Ship Engineer Regiment
3rd Machine Cannon AA Battalion
Tachiarai JAAF Base Force

My plan for today is to move 2 large battleship task forces into Oita, at high speed and at night, hoping to catch the enemy battleships there. Two problems. The enemy bombarded Oita 2 nights in a row, doing a lot of damage, and hasn't returned in 3 days. It may not return tonight. The second problem is that I may not have completed the battleships movement orders. I was reforming the task forces, pulling the fast battleships out of the carrier task forces, and I think I forgot to go back to the battleships and order them into Oita. Carriers are moving adjacent to Oita to help cover.

[apbarog]

13 Apr 44

PT boats at Oita engaged E-boat No. 18, hitting it with 2 small caliber shells. PT-224 was sunk by a shell hit. Torpedoes were wasted trying to hit the E-boat. The E-boat then hit a mine at Oita. Humorously, 6 slow US battleships showed up at Oita and engaged the E-boat, only to have the E-boat sink immediately, before a shot was fired. Scared it to death, apparently.

2 enemy cruisers bombarded Fukuoka, then the big 6 enemy battleship task force bombarded, causing about 800 casualties and some base damage.

3 US destroyers, moving in coordination with some minelayers, engaged 2 E-boats south of Kobe. One E-boat was sunk, the other was badly damaged. 6 US DMs then finished off E Kurahashi and laid mines in the straits south of Kobe.

US carrier naval bombers sank an AM and 3 AMc's at Matsuyama, east of Oita. The enemy was sweeping mines there, mines that had been dropped from B-29s last week. The enemy BBs keep moving through here, so far, without hitting any mines.

Many British cruisers bombarded Canton, same as every other night for over a month now. Many, many bombers hit Canton and its troops. I tried my first attack at Canton. It was a battle between huge armies, and one that the Chinese could not win. The enemy still has supply. I got impatient and wanted to see how the Chinese would do.

Ground combat at Canton (77,59)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 188585 troops, 832 guns, 179 vehicles, Assault Value = 6300

Defending force 102124 troops, 866 guns, 383 vehicles, Assault Value = 2790

Allied adjusted assault: 5209

Japanese adjusted defense: 14413

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 5)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2265 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 83 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 41 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 43 (4 destroyed, 39 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
11558 casualties reported
Squads: 115 destroyed, 1960 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 201 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 138 disabled
Guns lost 82 (6 destroyed, 76 disabled)
Vehicles lost 63 (8 destroyed, 55 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
37th Chinese Corps
34th Chinese Corps
98th Chinese Corps
2nd Prov Chinese Corps
54th Chinese Corps
60th Chinese Corps
20th Chinese Corps
88th Chinese Corps
73rd Chinese Corps
25th Chinese Corps
IV Corps Engineer Battalion
62nd Chinese Corps
94th Chinese Corps
11th Chinese Corps
1st New Chinese Corps
Y' Force
39th Group Army
10th Group Army
25th Group Army
56th Heavy Regiment
22nd Artillery Regiment
30th Group Army
7th Artillery Regiment
1st Artillery Regiment
3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment

Defending units:
17th Division
104th Division
22nd Division
13th Ind.Infantry Brigade
64th Division
116th Division
60th Division
7th Ind.Infantry Brigade
8th Ind.Infantry Brigade
51st Division
20th RGC Division
4th Mortar Battalion
47th JAAF AF Bn
Canton Special Base Force
10th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion
9th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion
4th Air Div /2
5th RF Gun Battalion
11th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion
23rd Army
5th Air Army /1
13th Army /1

Now the Chinese will sit and recover. Most of the losses were disablements, not destroyed squads, so not a terrible disaster. Urban terrain with level 5 forts and so many enemy divisions made it a tough fight. Maybe things will be different if and when the enemy runs out of supply. The war may end first.

[BBfanboy]

If you have any artillery that can't be moved to Japan, but is available in China, you could try increasing your artillery count there and then start daily artillery duels to use up his supply at Canton. Wait until after your Infantry squad recovery is nearly done of course.

[apbarog]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

If you have any artillery that can't be moved to Japan, but is available in China, you could try increasing your artillery count there and then start daily artillery duels to use up his supply at Canton. Wait until after your Infantry squad recovery is nearly done of course.

Not a lot of artillery available in China. A couple of Chinese units in the capital, needing more 105s in the pool to fill out. Most US artillery left China and is on Kyushu now.

14 Apr 44

PT boats from Fukuoka headed north to Fusan, and engaged 3 E-boats. Very minor damage to one E boat and 2 PT boats. Near Fukuoka, 4 US destroyers sank 2 ACMs that were fleeing bases on Kyushu. Some enemy mines were cleared at Fukuoka by 2 YMS's.

I-165 fired 4 torpedoes at CVL Bataan near Jolo. All missed. Bataan is a new light carrier headed to the Philippines. 2 enemy subs are sighted here, north of Jolo, and appear to be headed southeast. There's a chance that they are carrying supply for Davao. A 3 ship DE task force is moved near the southernmost part of Mindanao, near the turn for Davao.

15 Jills from Hiroshima sank 2 YMS's at Oita. No CAP at Oita yet, with the base still damaged from the battleships. Didn't think any enemy planes would fly to Kyushu after the losses the other day. These Jills flew without escort. Maybe a lucky mistake on their range.

O20 had more success at Yap, sinking PC Ashi with a torpedo. Still patrol boats there and at least one xAK. O20 was hit by a depth charge and will return to Jolo. 3 US subs are in the area.

US troops clear the important rail hex northwest of Oita. Most enemy had just fled off of Kyushu to the east. This combat mauled 2 stragglers.

Ground combat at 104,58 (near Shimonoseki)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22062 troops, 365 guns, 251 vehicles, Assault Value = 795

Defending force 2494 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 20

Allied adjusted assault: 452

Japanese adjusted defense: 21

Allied assault odds: 21 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
958 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 29 destroyed, 32 disabled
Engineers: 9 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 13 (10 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Allied ground losses:
58 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
4th USMC Tank Battalion
1st (Spec) Cavalry Division
38th Infantry Division
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Defending units:
47th JNAF AF Unit
62nd JNAF AF Unit

Yakushima was cleared of the enemy.

[BBfanboy]

IME subs set on Sub Transport missions do not attack anything until after they drop their supplies or troops. If those subs were headed SE they may be going to Babeldaob/Peleliu to hunt from there (if Japan still controls them).

Well done on the Kyushu invasion. I expected a much more violent reaction from air and sea, but it looks like he is indeed forced to try and conserve his forces to defend Honshu. He can rail lots of troops to Shimonoseki, but he risks having them cut off now that you have access to the Sea of Japan. I hope he fights on - the situation is very unusual and lots of drama is available on both sides. Good luck. [:)]

[CaptBeefheart]

How is the strategic page (the one with VPs) looking? Getting close to a 3:1 yet?

Cheers,
CB

[apbarog]

Getting there. Losing the 2 battleships didn't help.

[Q-Ball]

Looks like this one is ending soon.....once Kyushu falls, if you're not at 3:1, just a little strat bombing should get you there

[apbarog]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Looks like this one is ending soon.....once Kyushu falls, if you're not at 3:1, just a little strat bombing should get you there

Agreed. It wouldn't be surprising if OPilot surrenders when Kyushu is completely conquered, points or no points. It would be somewhat interesting to see what a massive bombing campaign from Kyushu would look like, for me, but not so much for him. He's been a great opponent, seeing out the end of the war in a hopeless situation. I'm trying to finish the war off quickly, but for the Japanese player, it's tough to play out the war for many months or even years. It takes the right attitude and OPilot has that.

[apbarog]

15 Apr 44

US minesweepers do their work at Fukuoka. No enemy interference.

Way up near the Korean/Russian border, sub Pintado hit AK Kaga Maru with a torpedo. At least 4 AKs in the task force. More US subs are basing in the Aleutians and now working north and northwest of Japan. Just not many targets to be found elsewhere.

20 F4U-1As swept Shimonoseki from Kurume. This was part of the effort to clear the air for carrier bombers to attack sub chasers in the area. Here, 37 Franks were found, and the Corsairs suffered. 16 were lost for the downing of 5 Franks. The carrier aircraft did not target the shipping there, at least. Instead, they went after sub chasers on the southern Korean coast. 6 SCs were sunk. No enemy air opposition there.

There's enough of an Allied stack at Kumamoto to attack now, but I'm waiting for the other enemy bases to the south to have US units in them. I want to prevent any retreat to the south, where the terrain is more defensible. Kumamoto is clear terrain. 5 US divisions there now. 3 more arrive there today. Kagoshima will come next. It and Kanoya have much lower stacking limits, so some of the US troops at Kumamoto will turn north and head to Nagasaki.

[apbarog]

16 Apr 44

Enemy mines cleared at Fukuoka. Sub Pintado missed an xAK near Rashin. Sub Manta was sunk near Fusan by E-boat Chiburi.

Georges swept Fukuoka but found no CAP. There will be ranged CAP there today. P-38Js from Kurume swept Shimonoseki, finding 40 Franks. The Franks were tough. 15 P-38s lost and 14 Franks downed. Will limited P-38 pools, they will move to China while more P-47s move to Japan.

The daily bombing of Canton is showing no AAA fire now. I moved some B-24s down to 10000 feet and they were not fired at either. Supply at Canton now appears to be dwindling for the Japanese. Wish I had waited another week for my first big Chinese deliberate attack there.

The Japanese at Kumamoto are going to get squashed. The attack is on hold until the bases to the south have Allied units in them, thereby blocking any retreat out of the clear terrain at Kumamoto.

Ground combat at Kumamoto (102,59)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 65572 troops, 1007 guns, 823 vehicles, Assault Value = 3149

Defending force 24737 troops, 244 guns, 121 vehicles, Assault Value = 703

Japanese ground losses:
86 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
52 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Assaulting units:
40th Infantry Division
3rd Marine Division
193rd Tank Battalion
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
5th USMC Tank Battalion
1st Marine Division
43rd Infantry Division
1st USMC Tank Battalion
6th Infantry Division
18th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
2nd Marine Division
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
110th Cmbt Engineer Battalion
754th Tank Battalion
33rd Infantry Division
2/5th Armoured Regiment
602nd Field Artillery Battalion
2/533rd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
I US Corps
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
III Amphib Corps
601st Field Artillery Battalion
249th Field Artillery Battalion
225th Field Artillery Battalion
4th AmphTrac Engineer Battalion
147th Field Artillery Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
V Amphib Corps
57th Aus Lt AA Regiment

Defending units:
32nd Ind.Mixed Brigade
46th Division
18th Tank Regiment
37th Ind Engineer Regiment
6th Depot Division
62nd Construction Battalion
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
Tachibana-wan Fortress
37th Const Co
22nd Ind.AA Gun Co
Waifu JAAF Base Force

[BBfanboy]

I am not sure that just having troops at Kagoshima will prevent a retreat from Kumamoto since the Japanese will still own the adjoining hex side. The rule is retreat can happen if there is a valid path for supply to move and that would still happen with your troops entering Kagoshima from the east. But if Kagoshima is weak and you can take it first, you should isolate Kumamoto and Kanoye (assuming you keep a unit in the road hex one east of Kagoshima).

[apbarog]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I am not sure that just having troops at Kagoshima will prevent a retreat from Kumamoto since the Japanese will still own the adjoining hex side. The rule is retreat can happen if there is a valid path for supply to move and that would still happen with your troops entering Kagoshima from the east. But if Kagoshima is weak and you can take it first, you should isolate Kumamoto and Kanoye (assuming you keep a unit in the road hex one east of Kagoshima).

See Alfred's post here

The rule book includes the word "solely". Page 197 of the rule book:

"The hex retreated to must be able to trace a valid supply path to a friendly base and cannot be solely occupied by enemy units."

This agrees with your analysis, BBfanboy. I've thought that Alfred's explanation, without the word solely, is correct.

[apbarog]

17 Apr 44

ACM Hagoromo Maru, escorted by a sub chaser, ran into 2 US YMS north of Nagasaki. The mine tender is fleeing. Both sides evaded combat, more than once. The ACM probably made it to Fusan and escaped.

6 slow US battleships bombarded Kumamoto, causing 695 casualties and minor base damage. The ships are headed back to Amami Oshima to rearm. They'll come back with another bombardment when the troops are ready to attack. It does appear that the enemy has reinforced Kumamoto with troops from Kagoshima and Kanoya. I'm ok with that. Kumamoto has clear terrain, the others do not. I'd rather fight the big fight at Kumamoto. US troops from Oita are approaching these two other bases.

Ground combat at Kumamoto (102,59)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 90337 troops, 1413 guns, 1094 vehicles, Assault Value = 3198

Defending force 49269 troops, 425 guns, 144 vehicles, Assault Value = 1472

Japanese ground losses:
86 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
66 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
110th Cmbt Engineer Battalion
754th Tank Battalion
6th Infantry Division
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
33rd Infantry Division
40th Infantry Division
1st USMC Tank Battalion
193rd Tank Battalion
1st Marine Division
3rd Marine Division
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
18th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
2nd Marine Division
43rd Infantry Division
5th USMC Tank Battalion
2/5th Armoured Regiment
I US Corps
V Amphib Corps
249th Field Artillery Battalion
601st Field Artillery Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
2/533rd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
4th AmphTrac Engineer Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
225th Field Artillery Battalion
III Amphib Corps
602nd Field Artillery Battalion
147th Field Artillery Battalion
57th Aus Lt AA Regiment

Defending units:
37th Ind Engineer Regiment
32nd Ind.Mixed Brigade
66th Division
46th Division
18th Tank Regiment
43rd Division
6th Depot Division
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
Tachibana-wan Fortress
62nd Construction Battalion
22nd Ind.AA Gun Co
37th Const Co
Waifu JAAF Base Force

[apbarog]

18 Apr 44

A bunch of enemy sub chasers and xAKLs fled Kyushu bases. They ran into the patrolling YMSs near Nagasaki, and both sides evaded combat.

OPilot sent 2 CLs and 6 DDs towards Fukuoka. 4 US DDs were patrolling to the northeast of Fukuoka, looking for sub chasers.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Shimonoseki at 104,56, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Sakawa, Shell hits 1
CL Yura, Shell hits 2
DD Fuyuzuki, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Matsu, Shell hits 1
DD Oite
DD Hayate, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Asanagi, Shell hits 1
DD Yunagi, Shell hits 14, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Haggard, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Hailey, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Healy
DD Twining, Shell hits 1

The Fletcher class destroyers did a good job against superior forces. They took some damage and pulled back to Fukuoka. The enemy, minus 2 DDs, followed.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Fukuoka at 103,57, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Sakawa, Shell hits 2
CL Yura
DD Fuyuzuki, on fire
DD Matsu, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Oite, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Asanagi

Allied Ships
DD Haggard, Shell hits 5, on fire
DD Hailey, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Healy
DD Twining

The DDs continued to do well. The enemy, now grouped as just 2 CLs and 2 DDs, engaged 6 PT boats at Fukuoka. The fight started at just 2000 yards, at night, great conditions for the PTs, but they were caught napping and were tied up at port. The enemy struck and sank 4 of the PT boats.

CL Yura and DD Asanagi then each hit a mine at Fukuoka. Asanagi's magazine exploded. The enemy TF, now down to CLs Sakawa and Yura, with DD Oite, engaged 6 more PT boats. The fight started at 2000 yards, but these PT boats were ready. Yura was hit by a torpedo and sunk. PT-231 was sunk. 2 more PT boats were sunk by retreating enemy DDs at Iki-shima. So, one enemy CL sunk and two or three destroyers. No US destroyers sunk, but 10 PT boats lost.

DD Hailey is the worst damaged, with SYS 41/FLOT 18-6/ENG 10-0/FIRE 0. I'm not worried. It's right at Fukuoka, a size 10 port. It could get bombed. CAP will be heavy though.

14 Nicks attacked shipping in port at Oita. No CAP. 3 PT boats sunk. Target of opportunity.

OPilot made a major air effort over Kurume. Initial US CAP was 50 P-47s and 40 Hellcats.

33 Georges swept with heavy losses on both sides.
17 Georges swept with more Japanese planes lost than US.
24 Georges swept. Again, more enemy planes lost than friendly.
21 Georges swept. More US planes lost this time. CAP was down to 42 planes.
24 Franks swept. More enemy lost than US.
36 Franks swept. A couple losses on both sides. Just 16 CAP left at the start of this fight.
25 Sallys and 21 Peggys attacked the port and airfield. 10 P-47s still on CAP. Some bombers turned away. Some shot down. 2 xAK hit in port.
54 Helens attacked the airfield. Some shot down by 7 P-47s. 2 P-38s lost on the ground.
25 Peggys attacked the airfield. The weather was heavy rain. A few Peggys shot down.
42 Franks swept. Just 2 P-47s still flying, until they were shot down.

Total air losses were:
39 Georges
17 Franks
10 Peggys
8 Sallys
5 Helens

24 F6F-3s
13 P47D2s
10 P47D25s
2 P-38s

Fresh aircraft are moved into Kurume, Fukuoka and Oita.

I've had ASW forces out in the middle of the south China Sea. Some Lilys from Hainan Island attacked 3 US SCs, sinking 2 of them. Got a little too close to Hainan and OPilot recognized an opportunity. Most enemy subs have been cleared from the area.

B-29s hit Shimonoseki, causing 2268 fires. B-24s hit ground forces, and sank an ACM in port.

Sub Cavalla sank sub chaser Ch 45 near Toyohara. Sub Batfish sank south of Kyushu. It was hit hard by air ASW yesterday, and was SYS 79/FLOT 51-18/ENG 7-2/FIRE 0. The flooding went out of control today. That's 2 US subs lost in a week. A lot for this war.

Allied forces will attack at Kumamoto. B-24s will support. Fast battleships from the carrier task forces will bombard Kumamoto. MacArthur is at Amami Oshima, within command range and prepped for Kumamoto.

[apbarog]

19 Apr 44

2 US destroyers that were heavily involved fighting the enemy CL task force at Fukuoka rearmed at Fukuoka and sprinted the one hex to Iki-shima, hoping to catch the damaged enemy ships. They got there, knowing that the enemy was low on ammo but still stronger than themselves.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Iki-shima at 102,57, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Sakawa
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Matsu, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Oite, Shell hits 2

Allied Ships
DD Healy, Shell hits 2
DD Twining, Shell hits 4

The US ships did well, again. Matsu was sunk.

Finback sank sub chaser Ch 54 near Ominato. Spadefish missed DD Usugumo at Woleai. Two other DDs spotted. Probably picking up troops. Spadefish was moderately damaged and will head to Jolo for repairs.

Fast battleships Washington, North Carolina, Iowa, South Dakota, Alabama, Indiana, New Jersey and Massachusetts bombarded Kumamoto. Two battleships were in each task force. B-24s bombed. Kumamoto was captured in the first attempt.

Ground combat at Kumamoto (102,59)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 98537 troops, 1442 guns, 1697 vehicles, Assault Value = 3209

Defending force 48321 troops, 419 guns, 139 vehicles, Assault Value = 1429

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied adjusted assault: 4673

Japanese adjusted defense: 375

Allied assault odds: 12 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied forces CAPTURE Kumamoto !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
5718 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 384 disabled
Non Combat: 116 destroyed, 39 disabled
Engineers: 134 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 241 (196 destroyed, 45 disabled)
Vehicles lost 121 (120 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units destroyed 3

Allied ground losses:
2481 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 244 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 56 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 65 disabled
Guns lost 23 (4 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Vehicles lost 41 (7 destroyed, 34 disabled)

Assaulting units:
754th Tank Battalion
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
18th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
110th Cmbt Engineer Battalion
193rd Tank Battalion
2nd Marine Division
43rd Infantry Division
3rd Marine Division
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
5th USMC Tank Battalion
6th Infantry Division
1st USMC Tank Battalion
40th Infantry Division
33rd Infantry Division
1st Marine Division
2/5th Armoured Regiment
III Amphib Corps
147th Field Artillery Battalion
4th AmphTrac Engineer Battalion
V Amphib Corps
602nd Field Artillery Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
601st Field Artillery Battalion
I US Corps
2/533rd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
249th Field Artillery Battalion
225th Field Artillery Battalion
57th Aus Lt AA Regiment

Defending units:
18th Tank Regiment
37th Ind Engineer Regiment
46th Division
32nd Ind.Mixed Brigade
43rd Division
66th Division
6th Depot Division
37th Const Co
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
62nd Construction Battalion
Tachibana-wan Fortress
22nd Ind.AA Gun Co
Waifu JAAF Base Force

Paras dropped on Tsushima but found the Tsushima Fortress unit to be strong.

Ground combat at Tsushima (103,56)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 738 troops, 8 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 50

Defending force 1722 troops, 34 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 37

Allied adjusted assault: 5

Japanese adjusted defense: 89

Allied assault odds: 1 to 17 (fort level 6)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(+), leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
132 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
503rd Parachute Rgt /1

Defending units:
Tsushima Fortress

Nagasaki will be attacked for the first time today. Another attack to take place at Kumamoto. C-47s will try to drop some supply to the paras at Tsushima. The rest of the regiment will wait to drop until the paras recover on Tsushima.

[BBfanboy]

Nice job taking Kumamoto. With 121 destroyed vehicles and only one damaged it looks like one of the destroyed units was the Tank Regiment. That should make hitting the fleeing units much easier. Gotta love US TD Bns.

[apbarog]

20 Apr 44

Big enemy convoy near Torishima, near the Jima's. Guavina missed an E-boat with torpedoes.

I-2 missed PF Long Beach out in the South China Sea. Still enemy out there, between Luzon and Vietnam, well south of Hong Kong.

Many Allied battleship task forces moved to Nagasaki to bombard. 5 destroyers, in 3 separate task forces, hit mines. Flotation is the major damage on them, and ranges from 22 to 61. All ships should survive. Better that the destroyers hit mines than the battleships. The DDs will be repaired before the end of the war. The BBs would not be. The battleships did bombard, and did good work.

8 Sallys flew a night bombing raid on Chungking. Some planes were damaged, and a couple of Warhawks were destroyed. This result may encourage OPilot to try this again. Night fighters are moved to Chungking, Kurume, Hong Kong and Takao.

Near Hirosaki, sub Piranha hit AK Sakito Maru with a torpedo.

My plan was to drop supply from C-47s to the paras on Tsushima. I swept Tsushima with P-38Js just in case. They did find enemy fighters there today, but more than I anticipated. 22 Franks and 15 Jacks intercepted. The Lightnings did well against the Jacks but not the Franks. B-24s then bombed, doing little with the bombs but wore down the enemy fighters effectively. The C-47s did drop supply but 11 were shot down. The paras do have adequate supply to hold now.

The enemy at Kumamoto, having lost the base yesterday, lost heavily today.

Ground combat at Kumamoto (102,59)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 94598 troops, 1431 guns, 1621 vehicles, Assault Value = 2989

Defending force 41829 troops, 262 guns, 21 vehicles, Assault Value = 995

Allied adjusted assault: 3279

Japanese adjusted defense: 133

Allied assault odds: 24 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
8474 casualties reported
Squads: 451 destroyed, 159 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 123 disabled
Engineers: 18 destroyed, 17 disabled
Guns lost 73 (59 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1861 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 115 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 39 disabled
Guns lost 23 (2 destroyed, 21 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd Marine Division
2nd Marine Division
40th Infantry Division
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
18th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
110th Cmbt Engineer Battalion
43rd Infantry Division
6th Infantry Division
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
193rd Tank Battalion
5th USMC Tank Battalion
754th Tank Battalion
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
1st Marine Division
1st USMC Tank Battalion
33rd Infantry Division
2/5th Armoured Regiment
4th AmphTrac Engineer Battalion
147th Field Artillery Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
602nd Field Artillery Battalion
I US Corps
2/533rd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
III Amphib Corps
V Amphib Corps
601st Field Artillery Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
249th Field Artillery Battalion
225th Field Artillery Battalion
57th Aus Lt AA Regiment

Defending units:
46th Division
32nd Ind.Mixed Brigade
43rd Division
66th Division
6th Depot Division
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
62nd Construction Battalion
Waifu JAAF Base Force

A first attack at Nagasaki went well. We'll attack again after a day of rest.

Ground combat at Nagasaki/Sasebo (102,58)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 64419 troops, 1092 guns, 883 vehicles, Assault Value = 1988

Defending force 39522 troops, 452 guns, 317 vehicles, Assault Value = 660

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Allied adjusted assault: 746

Japanese adjusted defense: 263

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2463 casualties reported
Squads: 80 destroyed, 119 disabled
Non Combat: 28 destroyed, 162 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 38 disabled
Guns lost 131 (23 destroyed, 108 disabled)
Vehicles lost 49 (15 destroyed, 34 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
621 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 150 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 30 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 42 (2 destroyed, 40 disabled)
Vehicles lost 30 (7 destroyed, 23 disabled)

Assaulting units:
37th Infantry Division
2nd Arm Amphib Battalion
31st Infantry Division
41st Infantry Division
93rd Infantry Division
Americal Infantry Division
102nd Cmbt Engineer Regiment
3rd Arm Amphib Battalion
154th Field Artillery Battalion
XI US Corps
97th Field Artillery Battalion
205th Field Artillery Battalion
98th Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
Sasebo 6th SNLF
62nd Naval Guard Unit
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
9th Tank Regiment
57th Division
2nd Sasebo SNLF Coy
Nagasaki Fortress
21st Ind.AA Gun Co
Sasebo Naval Base Force
Kogetsu JAAF Base Force
308th Ship Eng Coy
25th Air Defense AA Regiment
208th Ship Eng Coy
Western Army
209th Ship Eng Coy
21st Air Defense AA Regiment
206th Ship Eng Coy
Sasebo Naval Fortress
21st Air Defense AA Battalion
15th Ship Engineer Regiment
29th JNAF AF Unit
12th RF Gun Battalion
18th Ship Engineer Regiment
1st Mortar Regiment
23rd Field Construction Battalion
3rd FF Const Unit
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
108th Ship Eng Coy
7th Port Unit
306th Ship Eng Coy
109th Ship Eng Coy
106th Ship Eng Coy
63rd JNAF AF Unit
61st Air Flotilla
309th Ship Eng Coy
16th Ship Engineer Regiment
6th Ship Engineer Regiment
188th JAAF AF Bn /1

[EDIT: Mistake on the graphic. The fight was at Kumamoto. The pointer is to Kagoshima.]

[BBfanboy]

Are you confident that the enemy mines at Iki Shima and Tsushima have been cleared? The map doesn't show any but I don't recall a concerted effort to clear them. You will need at least one of those cleared to pass the TFs you will need for a landing on the North Coast of Japan. Also be aware that if you let the AI plot the TF paths going east and west through the Straits of Tsushima, it will normally use one hex row for east and another hex row for west. If you only have one of Iki Shima or Tsushima cleared, you have to use a waypoint at the cleared hex to ensure your TFs avoid the still-mined hex. When I first took Tsushima and tried to pass ships through, they would go eastbound through Tsushima, but westbound they routed themselves through Fusan, which had enemy mines and naval forts/CD units. [:(]